Free Audio-guide at St John in the Lateran and the Cloister with the OMNIA Pass

St John in the Lateran and the Cloister

OMNIA & Vatican Rome Card Benefits:

Admire the stunning Cosmatesque architecture and see the legendery Scala Sancta at the official seat of the Pope, St John in the Lateran

As the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope, the Basilica of St John in the Lateran is the oldest and most important church in Rome (you wouldn’t have guessed it was ranked above St Peter’s Basilica!). It’s also one of the oldest basilicas in Western Europe, having been built in 324 AD. Its adjacent Cloister is an oasis for meditative prayer and both buildings are popular amongst visitors to Rome both for their religious symbolism as well as their architecture and history.

Highlights:

Twelve large sculptures of the Apostles by the late baroque artists of the early 18th century

Holy Steps, the Scala Sancta

14th century Gothic baldacchino

The Cloister

Did you know:

St John in the Lateran and Cloister is actually a nickname; its official name is Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and of Sts. John Baptist and John Evangelist in the Lateran

There are six Papal tombs inside the basilica, the more recent tombs are now held in the crypts at St Peter’s Basilica

The basilica suffered the fate of two destructive fires during the Avignon papacy and from then the Pope moved out and into St Peter’s in the Vatican, where he lives to this day

Things to see:

Interior design

The nave features the original cosmatesque mosaic floor and gilded wooden ceiling which survived the fires and Borromini’s renovations in the mid 17th century. The papal cathedra (chair) sits in the elaborate apse, rich in decoration and mosaics. Not to be missed!

Holy Steps

The holy steps are a set of 28 white marble steps in the old Lateran Palace, leading to the Sancta Sanctorum – the early personal chapel of the Popes. According to Catholic belief, the steps are the same ones that Jesus Christ stepped up leading up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem.

Baroque Façade

Topped with fifteen Travertine statues, the façade is one of the basilica’s most impressive features and was part of a renovation project commissioned by Pope Clement XII. Alessandro Galilei won and finished the final façade, as we see today, in 1735. It’s now one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in the city.

Cloister

Built in the early 13th century the cloister is one of the most beautiful in Rome and displays the ornate Cosmatesque style in its mosaic friezes, as well as the thick spiralling columns embellished in mosaic decoration, too. The ambulatory houses a ninth century well and small garden, a secret oasis in the centre of Rome.

How to get there:

Great, good value for money and saved time.
We found the Omnia Vatican & Rome card a great value for money. The staff were helpful and even assisted us with additional information about Rome. By passing the queues into the Vatican help us in that we did not have to wait hours to get in and therefore had more time to explore Rome. The hop-on-hop-off bus took us to most of the places we wanted to see and the commentary was informative. Stephen Mandy from South Africa